North Yorkshire applying for Lancashire primary - anyone does this?

[LazyDogJumpedOver]

Hello everyone,

We live on the border of Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire. My son is 3 and will start reception in September 2016. The Lancashire primary applications system is online now but it says if you don't live in Lancashire you have to apply through your own county. North Yorkshire applications system doesn't open until 31st October!

Has anyone applied for a primary school place in Lancashire when they live in Yorkshire? Is the application simple enough?

In general with primary school applications do you have to justify why you're not choosing your local school or explain why you want school number one? Do you get an open paragraph?

L

Sorry... sorry... I don't know where I got "anyone does this?" from!!!

HAS-ANYONE-DONE-THIS

Use your words mummy!

You just apply through your own LEA, so Yorkshire, for schools both there and in other counties. You won't need to write anything in the application justifying your choice: nothing you write will be taken in to consideration. All that matters is which criteria you fit in if its not just distance - you need to make sure you tick the right box if you have a sibling, or medical needs, or if you are applying for a school that requires proof of worship for example. If none of those apply, then just list the schools you want in order.

Agree with PatriciaHolm. Just to add that there will be a space on the form where you can put your reasons for wanting a particular school. However, unless you have information that would move your child into a higher admission category (special medical needs, for example) there is no point filling in that box. The strength of your reasons is not taken into account in the admissions process.

Dd has just started secondary in another LEA to where we live, and ds also started in primary in the same LEA as dd.

I can only advise you on what we were told during our applications.

We had to follow the procedure for the LEA that we live in. It doesn't really matter when the applications open. Nothing is done until they are all closed. You can apply for schools in another LEA with no issues. Dds secondary is the closest school to us (although just over the boarder) and she didn't get in initially. We won on appeal. At the appeal the women representing the council kept going on about how we live in a different lea and paid tax to them. In the end the appeal panel had to point out to her that, that wasn't relevant. We won on other grounds, but the appeal panel made clear it didn't matter where we paid council tax to.

Ds got his place no problem and so they would have had to have found dd a place in that lea anyway, as both leas have different holidays etc. the woman from the council said they were obliged to help us. But didn't want to give us that school.

Your application will come down to the boxes you tick on the form to allocate the priority and to the distance you live from the schools. The woman at our appeal just seemed to have a dislike for people hopping the boarder. In reality it's not an issue.

I disagree there is no point filling in the notes box. It's true they don't read it when doing the applications. But it is refered to during the appeal process. Dh got a job working away between dds application going in and us submitting the appeal. The council asked why I hadn't put it on the form. I told them he got the job in January and took the contract to prove it, also took a letter written by the company he was working with to back it up. Since they don't read it anyway, it didn't really matter what I did or didn't put in it, but she tried to use it to prove we were lying about the job.

The deadline for reception applications is mid January OP. it makes no difference at all if you can apply now or have to wait until 31st October as all applications received before the deadline are treated the same.
You have to apply through your own LEA (N Yorks) but you simply give the name of the school and the name of the LEA (Lancs) where that school is. N Yorks will pass on your details to Lancs who will make a decision on whether you meet their criteria for being allocating a place at that school. But you will receive an offer from N Yorks to let you know which school you have been allocated.

Great, thanks for all your advice. The school is very small but I spoke to the headmistress and she said in five years they've never turned away a pupil from a different catchment as they've never been full. So fingers crossed it will all go smoothly!